Throughout one of the final news conferences of his 31-year head coaching career, the one where he announced his retirement after nine seasons at UTEP, coach Mike Price repeatedly expressed his disappointment at not winning enough football games and about the love he has for the school, the community and his bosses.

One of the final questions he faced was what it would mean to him to have a full house for his final game Saturday against Rice.

Price paused, gave his sly grin and said, "The next step is to give the beer away for free." He then started waiving and slurred in imitation of a drinking fan, "Hey, that's the guy who's leaving."

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At Monday's news conference, with a crowd of about 100, which included media as well as prominent boosters, coaches and his wife, Joyce, Price broke up in laughter that in a way marked his tenure.

In 2004, Price arrived at UTEP with a National Coach of the Year trophy, a huge name and a perception among some fans that he was a character risk after a scandal ended his brief career at Alabama.

The 66-year-old retires Saturday with a 48-60 record for the Miners, 177-182 overall, after seven consecutive losing seasons, but beloved in many segments of the community after spending almost a decade as one of the city's biggest civic boosters.

This was the final year of his contract.

"Whether we won or lost, we were always competitive," said UTEP athletic director Bob Stull, who also indicated he wanted to have a new coach in place before Christmas. "He raised the bar of expectations. No longer is it try to win three games. It's trying to win championships. He raised that bar.

"He brought a warmth to the city. They (Mike and Joyce) love El Paso, they loved UTEP. He's still the No. 1 sports personality in town. People stop him and want his autograph, his picture. This is a very difficult time for me because I love Coach Price."

UTEP President Diana Natalicio is currently in Brazil and is unavailable for comment.

Price took over after a three-year stretch where UTEP went 6-30 and a 31-year stretch where it averaged 2.6 wins per season, and instantly turned the program around. The Miners had back-to-back 8-4 years in 2004 and 2005 that marked the first consecutive bowls since 1954-55, and by 2005, UTEP was averaging 47,899 fans per game, up from 20,009 in 2003.

The success wasn't sustained. UTEP hasn't been better than 6-7 since, and its only recent bowl appearance was a loss in the 2010 New Mexico Bowl. Attendance has steadily declined and the 3-8 mark he takes into Saturday's game with Rice is his worst since arriving.

"I've been at other places where it's harder to win than UTEP," said Price, whose 177 victories has him sixth nationally among active FBS coaches.

"That's a cop-out for me. I think you can win here. I didn't do it. I didn't do a good enough job.

"We've been representative. We've been competitive. We haven't won enough games, and every year that goes by I get older."

Still, his 48 victories at UTEP places him second to Mack Saxon's 66 (he was coach from 1929 to 1941). Price also brought national exposure to a program that didn't have much of that before his arrival.

Price was the National Coach of the Year in 1997 at Washington State and was one of three finalists for the award in 2001, both Rose Bowl seasons. The 1997 Rose Bowl was Washington State's first since 1931.

After 14 years at Washington State he accepted the head coaching job at Alabama in 2003, but didn't coach a game there. He had his contract rescinded shortly after news reports surfaced of him being seen at a strip club during a trip to Pensacola, Fla.

That didn't deter Stull from hiring him.

"I'd known Mike 20 years. I knew what he was about. I believed in him," Stull said. "My biggest concern was how people would feel nationally about it. ... As soon as they heard, ESPN was out here doing features. Instantly we had credibility nationally. He went to the Rose Bowl at a place it's impossible to go to the Rose Bowl.

"When he was introduced at a (UTEP) basketball game, they cheered him for five minutes. When I was introduced when I came here from (the University of Massachusetts in 1986), they booed me."

Price told his staff Sunday night he was retiring, confirming speculation that began swirling at the end of last year when he announced he was returning for the final year of his contract and began intensifying as the losses piled up this year. He told the players Monday morning and announced it to the media at a noon news conference.

After saying he would retire and endorsing defensive coordinator Andre Patterson to take his job, Price called his wife to his side and thanked a long list of people, but the only time he teared up and his voice cracked was when he talked about Stull.

"When things are going bad, God, he's the best," Price said. "I didn't win enough games, period, that's it. But it's something when you can call your boss one of your best friends. That doesn't happen very many places. It's hard to have that kind of relationship with your boss in the athletic world.

"Everybody leaves pissed off. I'm not."

Price, who said his highlight here was Dec. 21, 2003, when he was hired, said he was going to stay in El Paso and be a booster for the program and the city, but didn't have plans to have any kind of formal role with UTEP.

His most recent victory came Saturday when UTEP beat a winless Southern Miss team in Hattiesburg, Miss., led by first-year coach Ellis Johnson.

Price related that Johnson was booed and the Golden Eagle fans were mean-spirited.

"Throughout the stands it was ugly," Price said. "It's not like that here. The fans appreciate and support UTEP."

Then he paused and put the final exclamation point on his UTEP career: "This is the best thing that's ever happened to my family."

Bret Bloomquist may be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; 546-6359. Follow him on Twitter @bretbloomquist

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